Sicilians love their seafood. That’s why you’ll bump into them on piers all over Australia with squid jiggers, lines at the ready and the endless patience that seems to escape me. Maybe I’m not a true Sicilian after all, or maybe I’m just not a fisherman, but I do love seafood. This dish was created to celebrate the richness and influence of Arabic flavours. If you would like to use more capers, go ahead, but be careful as they can be quite salty.
Serves 4
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
1 tablespoon small capers, rinsed and chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for cooking
juice of 1 lemon
80 ml vincotto
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 x 250g swordfish steaks
ROAST POTATOES AND CAPSICUM
500g desiree potatoes, peeled
salt
80 ml olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
3 large ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, cut into strips
1 yellow capsicum, cut into strips
1 celery stick, sliced diagonally
2 oregano sprigs, leaves picked
freshly ground black pepper
CHERRY TOMATOES
250g trussed cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
handful of parsley leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine the chilli, capers, fennel seeds, oil, lemon juice and vincotto in a wide bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the swordfish steaks and rub them in the marinade. Leave for about 1 hour.
Cook the potatoes in a large pot of salted boiling water until just tender. Drain and cool a little, then cut them into 1cm slices.
Preheat the oven to 2000C. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft then add the tomatoes, garlic, capsicums and celery and cook gently for about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and oregano and season with salt and pepper, stirring everything together. Tip the mixture onto a tray and cook in the oven for about 30 minutes.
Put the cherry tomatoes on a separate tray and toss with the oil, garlic and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. When the potatoes and capsicum are halfway cooked, put the cherry tomatoes in the oven to cook for 15 minutes.
Heat a barbecue, a chargrill pan or a frying pan and brush it with oil. Cook the fish for about 2-3 minutes each side, turning gently. Brush the cooked sides with the excess marinade.
To serve, arrange the potatoes and capsicum in the centre of plates. Place a piece of swordfish on top and spoon over the cherry tomatoes.
